Pressure Measurements

Dr. Abdelmaged H. Ibrahim

Abdelmaged@aucegypt.edu

Nov. 2017
 Pressure Measurements
 Definition
 Units
 Pressure terminology
 Different sensing methods:
 Gravitational
 Liquid columns
 Pistons and weight
 Mechanical
• Bourdon tubes
• Bellows
• Diaphragms
 Electrical:
 Piezo-resisitive
 Piezo-electric
 Capacitive
 LVDT
 Pressure sensitive paints
 Intelligent pressure transducers
 Pressure measurements inside fluid fields
 Dynamic response in pressure systems
Definition:

Pressure is the normal force exerted by a fluid per unit area

Units
 Pressure Terminology
• Gage Pressure
Pressure measured relative to ambient atmospheric pressure.
• Absolute Pressure
Pressure measured relative to zero pressure.
• Vacuum
Vacuum measured relative to ambient atmospheric pressure.
• Differential Pressure
Pressure measured relative to a reference pressure.
• Static Pressure
Is indicative of local fluid density and temperature when the fluid
is at rest. It is proportional to kinetic energy of motion of fluid
molecules.
• Dynamic Pressure
– Pressure induced on a surface or object due to fluid flow.
(1/2V2)
• Stagnation Pressure/Total Pressure
– Sum of Static and Dynamic Pressure PTotal=Pstatic+Pdynamic
Pressure Terminology
Pressure terminology: absolute, gage and vacuum pressures
 Pressure terminology: differential pressure

Measuring pressure differences is essential in orifice and Ventury meters

 Types of Pressure Sensors

• Gravitational
– Liquid Columns, pistons and weights

• Mechanical
– Bellow, bourdon tubes, diaphragms

• Electrical
 Pressure Measurements
 Definition
 Units
 Pressure terminology
 Different sensing methods:
 Gravitational
 Liquid columns
 Pistons and weight
 Mechanical
• Bourdon tubes
• Bellows
• Diaphragms
 Electrical:
 Piezo-resisitive
 Piezo-electric
 Capacitive
 LVDT
 Pressure sensitive paints
 Intelligent pressure transducers
 Special topic: dynamic response in pressure systems
 Manometers

P   m   f gh
keep in mind :    (T )

The units of measure commonly used are inches of

mercury (in. Hg), using mercury as the fluid and inches
of water, using water or oil as the fluid.
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Manometers

12
Variations In Manometer Design: Inclined-tube manometer
 Variations In Manometer Design: Well-type manometer

To overcome the U-tube requirement

of readings at two different places,
the well-type manometer was
developed. The reservoir (well) may
be made large enough so that the
change of level in the reservoir is
negligible, or the scale may be
compensated for the change in
reservoir liquid level. For purposes of
a more practical instrument the well-
type manometer uses a precision
bored well that requires
approximately a 10% scale correction
for well drop effect, thus avoiding an
Inaccuracies in the diameter of the
overly large and bulky reservoir. reservoir or the indicating tube will
create errors in this compensation.
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 Variations In Manometer Design: Inclined Well-type
manometer
 To further increase readability and sensitivity the well-
type manometer indicating tube is inclined, to cause a
greater linear movement along the tube for a given pressure
difference.

Inclining the indicating tube has

opened up the scale to permit
more precise reading of the
pressure.
Accurate reading with inclined
requires that the inclined portion
of the scale must be at the exact
angle for which it is designed.
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Pabs  A  0  A   hg  g  h  A
Pabs   hg  g  h
 Manometers: Factors affecting performance and usage
I- To improve and expand readability
 Red oil indicating fluid
 Scales are compensated to read pressure directly in the required
units.
 use of fluids that give a uniform, well defined meniscus facilitate
accurate reading.
 Scales must be clear, sharp, accurate and easy to read.
 Parallax free reading is made by aligning meniscus with its
reflection in the polished scale.
 Smoothly machined bores further enhance the visibility of the
meniscus.

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 Manometers: Factors affecting performance and usage

II- Characteristics of indicating fluid

 The fluid must also have good "wetting" characteristics
 Capable of forming a consistent, well shaped meniscus
 Affects the operating range of the manometer. E.g., mercury
being 13.6 times the weight of water will move 1/13.6th the
distance water will move in response to a given pressure.

III- Bore straightness:

 The tube must be straight
 Tube mounting
 Avoid bumping, vibrating or bending the tube

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 Manometers: summary
• U-tube and inclined manometers
are simplest pressure sensing
devices.
– Micromanometers
• Advantages
– Simple
– Inexpensive
– Can be highly sensitive (inclined)
P   m   f gh
where
• Disadvantages
m  density of manometer fluid
– Poor dynamic response
f  density of fluid being measured
– No remote sensing
– Limited pressure range
• Not practical over 100 psia keep in mind :
  (T)
Dead Weight Tester: Pascal law
Dead Weight Tester

Direct measurement
 Pressure Measurements
 Definition
 Units
 Pressure terminology
 Different sensing methods:
 Gravitational
 Liquid columns
 Pistons and weight
 Mechanical
• Bourdon tubes
• Bellows
• Diaphragms
 Electrical:
 Piezo-resisitive
 Piezo-electric
 Capacitive
 LVDT
 Pressure sensitive paints
 Intelligent pressure transducers
 Pressure measurements in fluid fields
 Dynamic response in pressure systems
Mechanical Pressure Gage
Mechanical Pressure Gage: Bourdon Tubes
 Mechanical Pressure Gage: Bourdon Tubes
Bourdon Tubes
C-type
100,000 psi limit
Spiral and Helical
Increase sensitivity
1000 psi limit
Accuracy to 0.1% FS
 Mechanical Pressure Gage: Diaphragms
• One common element used to convert pressure information
into a physical displacement is the diaphragm. A diaphragm
is like a spring, and therefore extends or contracts until a
Hooke's law force is developed that balances the pressure
difference force.

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 Mechanical Pressure Gage: Bellows
A bellows is another device much like the diaphragm that
converts a pressure differential into a physical displacement,
except that here the displacement is much more a straight-line
expansion.
Accurate to 0.5% FS
Not adequate for transient measurements
Typically used for small pressures
 Pressure Measurements
 Definition
 Units
 Pressure terminology
 Different sensing methods:
 Gravitational
 Liquid columns
 Pistons and weight
 Mechanical
• Bourdon tubes
• Bellows
• Diaphragms
 Electrical:
 Piezo-resisitive
 Piezo-electric
 Capacitive
 LVDT
 Pressure sensitive paints
 Intelligent pressure transducers
 Pressure measurements in fluid fields
 Dynamic response in pressure systems
Electronic Pressure Sensors: Technologies
Electronic Pressure Sensors: Piezo-electric

Dynamic measurement ONLY

 Electronic Pressure Sensors: Piezo-electric
• Piezoelectric elements are bi-directional transducers
capable of converting stress into an electric potential and
vice versa.
• One important factor to remember is that this is a
dynamic effect, providing an output only when the input
is changing (i.e., these sensors can be used only for
varying pressures)
• The piezoelectric element has a high-impedance output
and care must be taken to avoid loading the output by
the interface electronics.
• Some piezoelectric pressure sensors include an internal
amplifier to provide an easy electrical interface.
Electronic Pressure Sensors: Piezo-resisitive

Certain materials change their resistances with the applied pressure

Electronic Pressure Sensors: Parametrical

All except diaphragms

provide a fairly large
displacement that is
useful in mechanical
gauges and for
electrical sensors that
require a significant
movement
Electronic Pressure Sensors: Parametrical – Inductive

• Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)

– Operates under inductance ratio principle
– Magnetic coupling depends on position of coil.
• As iron core changes position voltages change
– Restricted to low vibration applications
– 0.5 % FS accuracy available
– Operating ranges from 0 to 10,000 psi
 Electronic Pressure Sensors: Parametrical – Capacitive

The displacement between two plates

produces a change in capacitance.
 Wide operating range (vacuum to
10,000 psi)
 Differential pressures as low as 0.01
inches H2O
 Fast response time
 0.01% FS accuracy and 0.25%
temperature effect
 Electronic Pressure Sensors: terminology
• Pressure Transducer
– Provides a DC voltage output proportional to applied pressure.
• Pressure Transmitter
– Provides a current output proportional to applied pressure.
• Proof Pressure
– Maximum pressure that may be applied without changing
performance beyond specifications. Typically 1 to 3x operating
range.
• Burst Pressure
– Maximum pressure that may be applied without physical
damage to the sensing element.
• Thermal Error
– Maximum change in output when the temperature is changed
from room temperature to some other specified temperature
extreme.
• Thermal Zero Drift
– The zero shift due to changes of the ambient temperature from
room temperature to the specified limits of the operating range.
 Pressure Sensitive Paints
• Provides global pressure measurement information.
• Luminescent compounds or dies dispersed in an
oxygen permeable polymeric binder.
 Intelligent Pressure Transducers

• Adding microprocessor power to pressure

transducers brings substantial improvements in their
characteristics.
• Some features of intelligent pressure transducers
include: improved measurement sensitivity,
extended measurement range, compensation for
hysteresis and other non-linearities, and correction
of ambient pressure and temperature changes.

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 Pressure Measurements
 Definition
 Units
 Pressure terminology
 Different sensing methods:
 Gravitational
 Liquid columns
 Pistons and weight
 Mechanical
• Bourdon tubes
• Bellows
• Diaphragms
 Electrical:
 Piezo-resisitive
 Piezo-electric
 Capacitive
 LVDT
 Pressure sensitive paints
 Intelligent pressure transducers
 Pressure measurements in fluid fields
 Dynamic response in pressure systems
Pressure measurements in fluid fields
Pressure measurements in fluid fields
Pressure measurements inside fluid fields
Pressure measurements inside fluid fields
Bernoulli’s Equation
Pressure measurements inside fluid fields
 Pressure Measurements
 Definition
 Units
 Pressure terminology
 Different sensing methods:
 Gravitational
 Liquid columns
 Pistons and weight
 Mechanical
• Bourdon tubes
• Bellows
• Diaphragms
 Electrical:
 Piezo-resisitive
 Piezo-electric
 Capacitive
 LVDT
 Pressure sensitive paints
 Intelligent pressure transducers
 Pressure measurements in fluid fields
 Dynamic response in pressure systems
 Dynamic Response of Pressure Measurements

• One must be concerned with lags associated with the

volumes and resistances of the sensor and connecting
tubing even if steady pressures are observed.

• Depends on:
– Response of transducer element
– Response of pressure transmitting fluid and the
connecting tubing.
• This factor may dominate the response lag.
 Dynamic Response of Pressure Measurements
• Often a direct calibration of the system response
could be performed.
– Test responsiveness of system with known inputs.

• We can estimate time constant of system of a system

with connecting lines.
 Dynamic Response of Pressure Measurements

Lag Time in Connecting Lines

for a step change in input
• Given Error of Psystem - Pmeasured can be estimated :
– Rigid connecting lines
– Incompressible fluid First order linear system :
– Steady laminar flow in tubes t
P - Pm
– Neglect inertia of transducer  e
P  Pm o
diaphragm
where
128L

D 4

L
 Most important factors to consider when selecting a
pressure transducer
• Operating Environment
– Range required
• Absolute, gage, differential, or vacuum
– Burst strength and overpressure limits
– Working fluid chemical compatibility
– Operating temperature
• Temperature compensation
• Accuracy
• Sensitivity
• Response Time/Frequency Response
• Required output signal
– Analog, digital, manual
• Cost?